The Chronicles of DreamClan: The Kin of Bloodstar
by Dreamnorn
Summary: Burningpaw is discovered to be the last in the line of Bloodstar's kin, supposedly following the pawsteps of the most famous tyrannous leader of the past. Feeling unwanted and alone, he runs away... just when FrostClan needs him most! Rated T, for safety.
1. Prologue

**REWRITTEN! I decided the original one stunk, so I rewrote this. Hopefully it's better than the original one.**

_**I do not own the Warrior cats or the first part of the prophecy (red strikes true). But I DO own the cats, clans, and other ideas in this story.**_

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The Dawn of Sunset

Late autumn has always been a sad omen for the cats in the Valley of the Lost. As the cold wind whips through their fur and chills their whiskers, they are reminded that leaf-bare is just around the corner, and shall engulf the whole valley with a blanket of snow.

As the leaves fall slowly, like a dancer, and land with a gentle skating motion on the cracked ground, the cats also recall that leaf-bare brings a slow, untimely death to the young or weak, rooting them out and sending them to MoonClan early.

On a particularly chilly day, though, in the FrostClan nursery, the world seemed safe and warm. The nursery was small—there were very few kits this time of year—but it was cozy. A lone queen tended to her single kit, bringing him closer and gently stroking his little body with her rough tongue. The queen herself was a dark, dull gray color with black stripes that were hardly visible unless you looked closely. Her kitten was a ruffled brown color.

A tall and regal looking she-cat entered the nursery. She had fluffy, silver hair with smooth, sweeping stripes running along her back and down her legs, to end with white paws, chest, and muzzle. Walking slowly, so as not to scare the newborn kitten, she approached.

"Congratulations on your kit, Darkspirit," the silver she-cat purred. "It is always nice to receive new kits in the clan." As much as the silver she-cat would try to say the second part with a straight face, it was rather hard. Newborn kits born close to leaf-bare usually died, but she didn't want to scare Darkspirit. "Tell me, do you know what you'll name him?"

Darkspirit looked proudly at her son and whispered, "When I saw him for the first time, mewling quietly, it looked as though his fur were set afire. I can already see him as a warrior, hunting with a fire in his heart, and fighting valiantly to defend FrostClan and you, Dreamstar. I shall name him Burningkit, for the vision I received."

Dreamstar smiled proudly and purred as she saw Burningkit nuzzle closer to his mother and mew pathetically. For a moment she sat there, watching him suckle… then a strange light came through a hole in the nursery roof. Dreamstar, half blinded, stepped back, opened her blue eyes… and gasped.

Darkspirit was right. In the sunset light, it genuinely looked as though this kit had burst into flames. The kitten mewled, but to Dreamstar it sounded like the roar of a LionClan cat. He batted his frail, little paw against his mother in a comforting knead, but it appeared in the light as though he were dealing the final blow to a vicious cat in a battle for his life.

It was among one of the oddest and scariest things that Dreamstar had ever seen.

The sunset lights began to fade, leaving the dull glow of the approaching dusk shimmering throughout the nursery. Along with the light, the kitten seemed to fade back to normal as well. Dreamstar blinked once... twice… she twitched her nose…

Nothing. He was simply Burningkit again.

Dreamstar slowly backed away from the nursery. Her head was drumming with the ferocity of her vision and her eyes were wide with fear. What would he be like when he was _older?_ The question nagged in the back of her mind, exploding almost into a flurry of stars.

She closed her eyes. Something almost seemed comforting as she slowly breathed in and out.

She opened them. Dreamstar gaped as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing.

Emerging from the moonlit sky was a falling cat. His body was faded like that of a ghost, but it glowed with such an intensity that it hurt her eyes. He smelled of the very stars themselves, like the smell of melting diamonds, and his eyes themselves seemed to be made of crystal.

He fell slowly, like a snowflake descending from clouds. He landed a few paces in front of her, his forepaws first and his hind paws following after. Stepping a little closer, he left a small burst of silver fire on the ground for each step he took. Dreamstar felt no heat off the flames, like the fire was enchanted by MoonClan.

"Dreamstar?" his voice was faded, but it reverberated along the hollow a dozen times. Its resonance just blew Dreamstar away, like pounding echoes drumming in her head. The silver she-cat backed away quietly, looking up at the spirit. Something was so familiar…

"Silverstar?" Humbled by the appearance of her former leader, Dreamstar bowed her head in respect. "Is that really you?"

Silverstar said nothing. He took a step forward, leaving a small flicker of silver fire. In the same echoic voice he boomed, "Listen to me, Dreamstar: _red strikes true, the last of the kin, to bring death to the dead._"

Dreamstar's eyes widened. She looked up at the ghost of Silverstar and whispered, "What? But I don't understand—why are you telling me this?"

The cat's blue eyes almost melted with pity for her confusion. "Dreamstar… I cannot stay… just… just remember… _red strikes true, the last of the kin, to bring death to the dead._"

Dreamstar blinked at Silverstar, who seemed to be fading out even more. A gust of wind blew, brushing away the spirit that was once her leader. The silvery flames that marked where he had stepped had turned into nothing but a thin smoke that still lingered in the cool air of the early night.

There was a moment's silence. An owl called. A warrior snored.

And the night itself seemed to fade away…


	2. A Restless Spirit

Chapter Two: A Restless Spirit

Burningkit wished to listen to a story.

Every few days or so, he would journey across the FrostClan clearing from the nursery to the elder's den, where his grandmother Nightbreeze would tell him tales of brave warriors, sneaky traitors, and other remarkable cats. But he was told that _this_ story wasn't just any nursery tale. The old she-cat promised to tell Burningkit one of the most famous legends in all of the Valley's history.

"But _mom_, I don't NEED a wash!" Burningkit wriggled away from his mother and shook his fluffy fur indignantly.

Darkspirit chuckled and purred in a teasing voice, "But _son_, you're absolutely _filthy_." With a long paw, she reached out, grabbed her kit, pulled him close, and started to lick his head.

"Aaah! _Mom!_" Burningkit groaned. He hated getting cleaned by his mother. The reluctant kit closed his eyes tight as Darkspirit ran her tongue down his forehead.

After about two more seconds, Burningkit jumped out of his mother's paws and ruffled his fur with his paw. "Fine, I'm clean, mom, okay? Can I see Nightbreeze now? She promised to tell me one of the greatest legends in the whole, entire valley! Isn't that cool?"

Darkspirit gave out a motherly smile and mewed, "I'm sure it'll be wonderful. You don't want to miss it, do you?" With that, she brushed away her kitten towards the elder's den.

Without hesitation, Burningkit scrambled on his nimble paws and hopped out of the entrance to the nursery, nearly ramming into Badgerclaw. "What? Whooaaah!" The eager kit hardly noticed his father tripping over him and crash-landing on his mother.

"Sorry!" he called back to them. Not waiting for a reply, he continued to run through the clearing, his brown tail billowing out behind him like a fluffy sail. The dark gray sky sent a dim, hazy glow around the clearing, heralding the approaching snowstorm that was predicted to hit the valley in only a few days. The snow that had landed earlier had been reduced to small patches of dirty and wet slush, which soaked Burningkit's legs and undid his mother's work of cleaning him.

Some other cats were in the FrostClan camp; the deputy, Bluedawn, was talking to Rosepetal, the medicine cat. The apprentices were play-fighting, pretending they were other clan leaders and that they were at war. Burningkit took a moment to watch them. _Someday, I'll be there too, _he thought proudly. Faintly smiling, the kitten turned away and entered the elder's den.

--

The elder's den was warm and inviting. Foxheart was fast asleep on a pile of soggy grass. The red-haired cat, babbling incoherently in his dreams, was clearly uncomfortable in his bedding.

The other elder, Nightbreeze, was quietly nibbling on a mouse.

Almost at once, Burningkit tackled Nighbreeze and mewed excitedly, "Story time! It's story time!" His grandmother purred as Burningkit snuggled close.

Nightbreeze snorted happily and quietly pondered, "Ah, yes, I promised you a story, didn't I? Deary me, where were we, again…?"

Burningkit gave the elder an accusing glance, "Nightbreeze, don't you _ever_ remember? We were just past the part where Bloodclaw became deputy of DarkClan." He got off of his grandmother, sat a rabbit-length away, and thought, _I wonder why the grownups always forget where they left off in stories…? Hmm. Odd. Maybe they just have bad memories or something._

Nightbreeze sat up slowly. Her joints ached as she struggled to get in an upright position. Sighing quietly, she smiled at her grandson and whispered, "It is a tale of old, still spoken of today. We have started yesterday, but you still don't know what it's about, do you?"

Burningkit shook his head. Nightbreeze continued, "Well listen, my kit, and you shall soon find out…"

--

While the story was being told in the elder's den, the apprentices continued to play. Dragonpaw, a feisty tabby she-cat, was pouncing on top of Crystalpaw, a white tom, in a play-fight. Cloverpaw, the medicine cat apprentice, was cheering on Dragonpaw, who was her cousin, and Littlepaw was quietly staring at the ground.

"RAWR! Your evil ways are no match for me, Stormstar, for I, the mighty and noble Froststar, am the most awesometastic cat in the entire forest! Hoo ha!" Crystalpaw cuffed Dragonpaw over the ear playfully and laughed kindly at her pathetic attempt to launch a counterattack.

"Ah, Froststar, but good shall never triumph!" Dragonpaw growled falsely "Not when I have the power of the shadows at my very paws. Hey-yah!" The dark red apprentice knocked Crystalpaw into a tree, nearly causing him to flatten Littlepaw.

"Sorry, Littlepaw," Crystalpaw smiled weakly, "I'm too excited to pay attention. You know, my warrior ceremony's coming up." The white cat's chest swelled with pride and his eyes glowed with a shiny, metallic intensity.

Littlepaw's nervous green eyes darted around. Her fluffy gray tail twitched nervously and she shyly whispered, "It's okay, Crystalpaw. But I'm worried about Burningkit…"

Crystalpaw's face instantly turned serious. "What about the little man is wrong? I would _know_ if anything was wrong! He's practically a littermate to me."

The small, gray apprentice flinched, "I don't know, but I saw his _eyes_ earlier…"

"Yeah?"

There was an awkward pause. "They were the color of danger, only a thousand times worse! Cloverpaw, do you think he's sick or something?"

Cloverpaw frowned slightly, "No, not really. He's certainly not acting sick."

"Dragonpaw?"

"Nah," Dragonpaw shrugged it off and licked herself a few times. "Burningkit looks fine to me. Besides, if anything was wrong with him, wouldn't it be a little more obvious?"

"I agree with Dragonpaw on this one," Crystalpaw added. "He's probably fine. I'm pretty sure that there is nothing wrong with the little man. I think you're just overreacting over maybe just a sore eye or some other silly thing, Littlepaw."

Littlepaw sighed. She was the newest apprentice, so she felt she didn't have much respect in her group. But this time, she genuinely felt as though something strange was going on with Burningkit. There was something about those eyes that were familiar…

Little did the apprentice know that she wasn't the only cat who shared the same, quiet fear… not that far away, on the Stonetree, Dreamstar herself quietly mulled over the matter as well.

--

**I think this chapter was better than the first (longer, yay!), and my fingers practically flew over the keys as I wrote this. :3**

**I am considering writing of the story in the next chapter, or maybe even AS the next chapter, but I'm not sure… if you have any suggestions or comments, PM me or review! :)**

**More shall hopefully come soon!**

**EDIT: Okay, I edited out some of Crystalpaw's excessive slang. It was starting to drive me completely insane.**


	3. The Legend of Bloodstar

**I have decided to write part of the next chapter as the legend as itself… let's hope I wrote it well!**

**Edit: I revised it; I forgot to add in a crucial plot point, being the idiot that I am. xD**

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The Legend of Bloodstar

Burningkit sat down quietly. The elder's den was silent and warm, the kind of place that would be nice to go to sleep at night. He kneaded his paws on the ground, softening the moist soil. When he was at last comfortable, the young tom looked up at his grandmother, as she began to speak…

"_Bloodclaw had become deputy at last. He worked hard to earn his position, through lies and deceit to his leader and to all of DarkClan. But being deputy wasn't enough. He wanted more. Bloodclaw hoped to someday be a leader of the Valley, and he knew that his chances were small unless he took the fate of the clan in his own paws. But even he knew that if he openly killed his leader, his clan would never keep him, and all his hope of becoming a clan leader would vanish._

_"I suppose you are wondering what he looked like? You could recognize him anywhere. His dark brown fur was unkempt and rugged, raking across his spine in rippling tufts that spread along in a coarse manor over his back. One of his ears had a tear in the side from a battle of the past. His claws were stained red with blood--hence his warrior name--and his teeth were partially stained an unpleasant yellow color at the tips._

_"But one of the scariest features of this tom were his eyes: they were dark and menacing, and were as dark a red as split blood. If you were to look him in the eye, you would immediately wither at the sight..."_

"Tell me, am I straying off course?" Burningkit nodded, trying to hold back a grin at Nightbreeze's occasional forgetfulness. But he could feel his heart pounding in his ears and his stomach welling with pain and fear just by imagining what Bloodclaw truly looked like...

The aging queen muttered, "...Right. _He continued his act until one fateful day, when his leader got trapped in a sand pit. It was sinking her, pulling her into the ground. The leader called for help, but Bloodclaw wouldn't listen. He only watched as she sank, never to return."_

Burningkit gulped. _Why would someone be that cruel?_

Nightbreeze continued her tale, _"He told the clan of his leader's demise—not adding that he failed to help her, of course—and became leader in her place. Bloodclaw had been transformed into Bloodstar._

"_As a good clan leader should, he helped his clan revive after hearing the desolate news of losing their leader. But it wasn't enough. Not even a moon after he became leader, he declared war on all of the other clans in the entire forest."_

At this, Burningkit raised an eyebrow. That would be a very bold move, but such an event would make Bloodstar as brave as he was buffoonish. Wasn't Bloodstar supposed to be one of the most fearsome leaders in history?

"_He led his entire clan into battle—even the kits! They would raid other camps and steal their prey and medicine cat supplies. Then, when the opposing clan was sick or weak, Bloodstar and the rest of DarkClan behind him would launch a powerful assault, in which he viciously took all the lives away from the clan's leader."_

"_One by one, the other three clans fell, to be conquered by this bloodthirsty tyrant. He became the single ruler of one large clan a few mere moons after the gathering where he declared war. Bloodstar officially conquered the final clan standing, on the day his kit, Charredkit, was born, so he named it CharredClan, in honor of his newborn son._

"_For many moons it remained this way; with Bloodstar ruling alongside his cruel cohorts, and internal turmoil bubbling in the clan like lava in a volcano. Charredkit grew into a strong warrior with a family of his own, even though most of the clan despised him for his roots._

"_They say that one night, Bloodstar went to the legendary Mirror of Eternity to speak with MoonClan. When he came back, he was so tired that some cats claimed he was dying of exhaustion. He was found half-dead in the Shady Gorge by four cats, all of whom were senior warriors._

"'_My loyal warriors…' Bloodstar whispered, 'my fate has been sealed. At Moonhigh tonight, I shall be dead.'_

"'_Bloodstar!' cried one of the warriors, 'We can still save you! Just hang in there.'_

"'_Save your pity,' the leader snarled. 'CharredClan… can be no more…. I need the four of you… please… take my place. Divide the cats and send them back to their true homes…'_

"'_I don't understand!' another warrior wined, 'Why? CharredClan has prospered.'_

"_But it was too late. Even the mightiest oak tree which stands to the sky is to be felled someday. With one final sigh, Bloodstar drew in a last breath, and has lain there ever since."_

Burningkit shivered and smiled excitedly. This story was creeping him out. He liked stories that did.

"_The four warriors did not dare disobey the final will of Bloodstar. Just as they were told, they separated CharredClan into the four clans we know today: StormClan, DarkClan, FrostClan, and TreeClan._

"_In truth, however, one of the greatest traditions of the clans has been lost along with Bloodstar's life; ever since that day, all the clan leaders had only one life. The Mirror of Eternity hasn't been found ever since those very events which occurred three hundred years ago._

_"Since the time of Bloodstar, the cats of our clans have worried that someday, his legacy would return to haunt the Valley of the Lost, but no such things have happened... yet..."_

"…And thus ends my tale." Nightbreeze got up and yawned, showing off her yellowing teeth. Burningkit cringed at her breath which smelled of half-digested mouse. "Sunset is approaching, Burningkit. Isn't there something we're missing, now?"

Burningkit perked his ears and gasped. In the distance, he thought he could hear the standard words a leader would say to call all the clan cats beneath the Stonetree for a meeting. _Crystalpaw._ His warrior ceremony was supposed to be at sunset.

"Crud… CRUD!" Burningkit gasped. With a rush of paws, he leapt out the door and bounded into the camp.

Nightbreeze smiled after Burningkit, her dull blue-gray eyes slowly blinking with exhaustion. Her long, gray tail twitched and she got up, being careful not to hurt her bad back.

She turned around to look at where Foxheart would normally be snoring away, to find that he wasn't disturbing the entire Valley with his sonorous sounds. The suggestion of a grin tugged at her features. _I must've been rambling on again, if I didn't notice the noise stop,_ she thought.

With a sigh, the elderly she-cat limped out of the elder's den and out into the hollow.

--

"…Then by the powers of MoonClan I give you your warrior name. Crystalpaw, from now on you shall be known as Crystalshard. MoonClan honors your patience and optimism, and we welcome you as a full warrior of FrostClan."

Dreamstar stepped forward and pressed her nose against Crystalshard's shoulder. The white cat was quivering with enthusiasm, overjoyed that he was a warrior at last. His eyes glowed with a powerful happiness beyond compare. The whole clan started to chant his name.

At the moment, Burningkit stumbled into Falconcry and began to chant off-beat, when comparing to the rest of the clan.

As the newly-named Crystalshard stumbled into the hollow, he was attacked by a swarm of "well done" and "congratulations" by his clan mates. Burningkit squirmed out of the way of Falconcry (who was never in a good mood and obviously didn't appreciate Burningkit running into her) and ran off to be in the throng of cats crowding around Crystalshard.

The crowd was as thick as pea soup; he couldn't even get close until the warriors moved out of the way. He bumbled through the thinning group and bumped right into Crystalshard's leg.

"C'ngratchl'ations, Crystalshard." Burningkit panted. He collapsed on the ground, breathing heavily.

Crystalshard laughed, "Thanks, dude. I've, like, been waiting for this moment for a long time. It's kinda hard t'believe, you know? It's like the world is spinning 'round my head."

"I think you'll be one of the bestest warriors the forest has ever seen," Burningkit purred. The small brown cat, reviving from his exhausting weave through the warriors, began to rub himself against Crystalshard's ankle. "Don't you think?"

Littlepaw smirked playfully, "It's not 'bestest', Burningkit. It's 'most awesometastic...' am I right?"

At that comment, Crystalshard smiled stupidly and said in fake modesty, "Well, uh, like, yeah! I'm gonna be the most awesometastic warrior in the entire valley." He began to flex his muscles in a manly way, making Burningkit laugh and fall to the ground. Littlepaw grinned quietly and rolled her eyes.

"Crystalshard!" a deep voice called. Burningkit and Littlepaw backed away and bowed respectfully as the clan deputy, Bluedawn, walked over. She was a tall she-cat with blue fur on the top of her body and a creamy-white underbelly. Her sweeping, longhaired tail looked as though it could be used as a broom to sweep the camp or a toy to occupy the kits.

"Crystalshard, sunset has passed. From now until morning, you shall take the silent vigil and guard the camp while the rest of us sleep. Do you understand?"

The warrior mumbled, "Well…"

Bluedawn gave him a cold look.

Crystalshard sat up to attention and nodded.

"Good. Then we will leave you to your duty until early morning. You shall only break your vigil if major trouble is spotted. Is that clear?"

The white warrior nodded again, a twinge of uncertainty clouding his once luminous, blue eyes.

"Good." At that, Bluedawn promptly stalked away, slowly and luxuriously walking off towards the leader's den; probably to report most recent clan activities to Dreamstar, as usual.

Littlepaw yawned, showing off her pink gums, and whispered shyly, "Good night, boys." The small gray she-cat padded off towards the apprentice's den, her droopy tail making gentle sweeping motions on the ground as she walked.

Burningkit turned once more to Crystalshard and whispered, "You're the best, man. Good luck." The brown tom turned and stalked towards the nursery, leaving Crystalshard alone for his first vigil as a warrior of FrostClan.

_It's a rumor, a legend, a mystery_

_Something whispered in an alleyway_

__

Or through a crack  
_  
It's a rumor that's part of our history_

--

**The song exurb is from **_**A Rumor in St. Petersburg**_**, from the animated movie, **_**Anastasia.**_

**Read and Review! **


	4. The Unattended Voyage

**It took me a while to type up this next chapter. It was interesting; I knew in the back of my mind EXACTLY what was going to happen, but I just. couldn't. write. it. down.**

**I have a prickling feeling that this chapter could've been better, but it was the best I could do at the time, so here's chapter four.**

**--**

An Unattended Voyage

The next morning was dull and hazy, with mist so thick and wind so strong that one's paws would drag slowly back in the opposite direction whenever he stopped walking. It was like wading through the chilly river opposite the way it normally flowed.

It was the kind of morning that made one desperately wish to stay in the warmth and comfort of their bed.

Nearly all the cats in the FrostClan camp were groggily hovering by the fresh-kill pile, slowly making their way through their scrawny meal and cuddling close to others for warmth. Even Dragonpaw and her cousin were walking closely as they sluggishly made their way to the food.

But in total contrast to the gloomy feeling of outside, Burningkit was sparkling with an energy found only in children. He stuck his nose out of the nursery door, poked his head back in, and stared, cross-eyed, at the water droplets which formed on his fur. His pupils widening, Burningkit batted his nose, only to accidentally scratch the top of his muzzle.

"Ow," mumbled Burningkit. His dark eyes peered towards the clearing. He wanted to go outside; he always had. And somehow, he felt today was the perfect day to head out into the world.

The kitten rubbed his chocolate-brown fur against the dull-gray pelt of his warm mother, who was half asleep in her nest. Darkspirit blearily looked up, her blue eyes half open, and burbled, "What's wrong, son? Can't it wait until morning?"

Burningkit scowled irritably, "It _is_ morning. And I just want to know if I can go outside."

"What? You don't need to wake me up to ask _that_. Go along, but stay in the camp." With that, Darkspirit turned over, curled up again, and her breathing became long and soothing. Burningkit was tempted for a moment to snuggle up beside her, but then he looked outside again. _I wonder what's out there today?_he thought as he bounded over to the entrance and leapt into the camp.

Almost at once, a blast of icy wind whipped through his fur, searing his eyes. The kitten was so light that he was blown back into a bush at the edge of a camp. Shivering slightly, Burningkit shook himself dry and blinked his eyes, trying to get rid of the pain. "Ow, ow, ow…" he whimpered, his dark eyes stinging.

"Burningkit?"

Burningkit stopped and sat up alertly. He perked his ears upward and stopped blinking, to at least try and appear to be dignified.

Littlepaw quietly showed herself. Her downy gray fur flopped over her azure eyes. "What're you doing out here? I thought kits were supposed to be confined to the camp!"

At that remark, Burningkit rolled his eyes. He was always being treated like a newborn. _I bet none of the apprentices get babied like this, _he thought darkly, but he didn't say so to Littlepaw. "Well, I _was_ in the camp until the wind caught me and blew me into the bush."

Littlepaw raised a whiskery eyebrow and shyly ordered, "Well, I guess you should head back into the camp now. They'll get worried if they see that you're gone." She quietly gestured towards the clearing.

Burningkit hesitated. This was his first look of what the world was outside of the hollow. It was tall and mysterious, hidden by the misty blanket that had taken layer over the Valley. The trees were so… so _new_ and _unexplored_… his senses were drumming like those of a real cat just by looking at the scenery.

He didn't even bother to look behind him. Burningkit knew that all that was there was the FrostClan camp, where the elders would be complaining about their bedding, the warriors would exchange news as they shared tongues, and the apprentices would be either play-fighting or out on their duties. Been there, done that. Burningkit had had quite enough of this.

In a heartbeat, his childlike wonder vanished, to be replaced by a cold anger which rippled in smooth waves over his heart. Why _was_ he still being treated like a kit, anyway? He was almost six moons old. He was almost an apprentice. And these cats _still_ didn't let him go out on his own.

It was more than his young heart could handle.

With a low growl, Burningkit scowled at Littlepaw and ran. He raced through the thorny thickets and waded through the mud. His fur got tangled with thorns and burrs and was moistened by the damp air and sludgy ground, but he didn't even care anymore. The kit's eyes began to sting again as he charged against the gale.

Tuning out all noises and external sounds, he continued to run. For a while he dashed, too absorbed in his own fury to even pay attention to most of his surroundings.

After running with all his might, the enraged kitten began to slow down. His breath caught on the wind, puffing into billowing clouds that quickly faded into the thickening mist. Burningkit slowly grounded down to a halt on a small patch of grass which hadn't been wiped out in the recent frost. For the first time since his encounter with Littlepaw, his anger faded with his energy. His anger-stained eyes slowly dulled into a quiet sadness.

He stared at his paws. His whole underbelly was caked in mud, making him feel uncomfortably clammy. His claws, which were unintentionally unsheathed during his run, had caught on to tangling weeds and prickling burrs.

_Holy MoonClan…_Burningkit sighed in his head, _what am I doing? Poor Littlepaw is probably worried sick._ The brown tom sat down sadly. He shivered, trying to shake off droplets of muddy water off his thin fur.

He looked around. The sky was an eerie gray, hidden by the impenetrable and dimming fog. The ground he sat on felt spongy, despite it being dry, and the air smelled of rain. Burningkit shuddered, his eyes frantically scanning his taboo landscape. For the first time in his life, he felt the deafening silence close in on him in a claustrophobic manor.

Burningkit whimpered and began to cry.

--

All while Burningkit was running away, Littlepaw was swiftly pursuing. Her swishing tail made gentle indentations in the muddy ground. "BURNINGKIT!" she called, her frail voice failing to approach the volume she originally hoped. She sniffed the air, her blue eyes clouded with fear.

"Oh, it's no use! I can't find him." Littlepaw turned around and lazily began to plod her way back to the camp. _No! You have to find him! It's your duty as an apprentice of FrostClan, and as a friend._

Littlepaw stopped. "Crud," she mumbled. "I'm no tracker, but should try to search for him… no! I can't do that, because I'll probably get myself lost…"

She pondered momentarily, and then a stroke of inspiration hit her like a shining beam of the first light of spring. "I need to go back for help!" Littlepaw's eyes were still glazed with anxiety, but her smile was proud and confident. The gray she-cat began to sprint back towards the FrostClan camp, hoping to find the help she needed to search for the lost cat.

--

_I came up with one thing_

_And I don't believe I'm wrong_

_That nobody_

_But nobody_

_Could make it here alone_

**The poem exurb is from "Alone" by Maya Angelou.**

**I think that this story has more angst than I originally intended… ah, well. It actually fits better. X3**


	5. Organizing a Search

**Sorry for the lack of updates; I was on a trip to Yosemite National Park. But that isn't necessarily a bad thing… I got a lot of new material for my story (which just happens to take place in a Valley Forest), so maybe I can have better descriptions in future chapters. :)**

**This chapter felt kind of choppy as I wrote it. I hope it turned out well…**

**--**

Chapter Five: Organizing a Search

Littlepaw burst into the FrostClan camp with a flurry of nerves, her eyes watery pools of worry. The young apprentice stumbled towards the Stonetree, nearly tripping on her hind paws, and burst into the room where Dreamstar lay sleeping.

"DREAMSTAR!" Littlepaw screamed. The sudden noise made her leader jump out of bed, her tail puffed out like a pine tree's needles. Dreamstar looked around as though she expected to be hit by a falling rock.

"Who, what?!" the silver tabby yowled. She blinked when she saw an anxious Littlepaw and urgently growled, "What's wrong, Littlepaw?"

The gray apprentice shifted uncomfortably before the icy stare of her leader. Facing Dreamstar, who was said to be one of the noblest cats in all the forest, was a tough job. She whimpered, "One of the kits ran away."

"What?! Which one?"

"Burningkit; I found him outside the camp and tried to bring him back, but he ran off!" Littlepaw pressed her paws nervously against the corner of Dreamstar's mossy bed. "Oh, Dreamstar! I'm so scared for him. He's just a kit, and he's never been on his own before!"

Dreamstar blinked, her eyes deep and serious. After a moment she meowed, "Go get Bluedawn. I need to speak with her."

Littlepaw immediately stood up to attention and scrambled down over the petrified roots of the tree and down into the hollow. Dreamstar watched after her, her whiskers twitching. _I knew it was only a matter of time before he decided to run off on his own…_ she thought quietly.

The leader, sat down on her bed, staring out the entrance to her den. The whole place was frighteningly quiet. The silver tabby sat down and stared vaguely in the distance, lost in her own thoughts.

--

Littlepaw found Bluedawn snarling at Crystalshard. "For the last time, you are NOT bringing Falconcry with you on your hunt! I know that she distracts you."

Crystalshard, breathing slowly to hold back a pinkish blush, babbled incoherently, "But, she's, like, an awesometastic hunter!"

"I don't care. You are going on a hunt with Winterdream and Badgerstripe, and that is an ORDER!" At that note, Bluedawn angrily growled and sternly glared at the white tom.

Littlepaw shyly approached and meowed, "Bluedawn?"

"Hold that thought," Bluedawn mumbled to Crystalshard. She turned around, a mad bull, and stood proudly and rigidly before the gray apprentice. "What do you want?"

"Dreamstar would like to see you," Littlepaw meowed.

Upon hearing that, Bluedawn's eyes narrowed. "Really? I'll go see her." She turned back to Crystalshard and snarled, "I'll deal with you later."

The she-cat walked away, her blue tail swishing in the mist. Crystalshard breathed out as though he were holding his breath for an hour. "Thanks, Littlepaw. I owe you one."

"Why was Bluedawn so snappy to you?"

The white tom uttered, "Meh, she, never liked me; not since I put a drowned mouse in her bed." At that, Crystalshard suddenly started to laugh hysterically. "Holy MoonClan! Her expression was, like, totally _priceless!_" Littlepaw giggled happily as she saw her friend roll on the ground in conniptions at the memory.

At the most inopportune moment, Bluedawn appeared with Dreamstar. The deputy seemed irked that Crystalshard was laughing. "Shut up, you mousebrain!" she bellowed fiercely.

The moment Crystalshard heard that, he quieted down. Dreamstar whispered, "Bluedawn, be nice to him. He was recently made a warrior."

Bluedawn cursed silently under her breath. Dreamstar, ignoring her friend, turned to Littlepaw and meowed, "If Burningkit's really missing, then we have to try and search for him. I know the weather conditions aren't favorable, but we have to try and find him. I'm certain that if he gets lost, he will get into a lot of trouble."

Crystalshard's face turned serious. "The little dude is missing? What happened?" He rolled onto his back and stared intently at his leader.

Littlepaw mumbled, "He ran off and away from the camp. At the rate he was running, Burningkit could be anywhere by now."

"We gotta find him! The little dude's like a brother to me, man!" Crystalshard howled.

Dreamstar turned to Bluedawn and commanded, "Bluedawn, you said that Crystalshard, Badgerclaw, and Winterdream were going on a patrol, yes?"

"A hunt, yes."

"Tell Falconcry and Venomfang to do it when they come back from their border patrol." Dreamstar turned to Crystalshard. "Young warrior, this shall be your first mission: head off with Badgerclaw, Winterdream, and Littlepaw in search for Burningkit."

Littlepaw perked up her cuplike ears, her eyes as round as the full moon. "What!? I'm going too?"

Dreamstar purred, "Of course. You and Crystalshard are his friends, so you two might be able to talk some sense into him and tell him to come back. And even if you two can't do it, Badgerclaw is the kit's father."

The gray she-cat stammered, "But—but—but—!"

Crystalshard placed a paw on her shoulder and rubbed his head against her comfortingly, "There, there, Littlepaw. Be brave for the little man."

Littlepaw sighed quietly, like the wind through the pine trees. _Burningkit has to be found._ _There's no way around it._ Littlepaw smiled proudly, her eyes glowing with a faint confidence. "I'll go."

Dreamstar couldn't help but grin at Littlepaw's valiant smile. _She'll make a great warrior one day._ "It's been settled. I trust you will bring him back soon. "

Bluedawn protested, "But Dreamstar, you can't honestly expect a buffoon and a new apprentice to successfully go on a tracking mission!"

The silver tabby raised an eyebrow and meowed, somewhat amused, "That was an _order_, Bluedawn. I expect you to carry it out." The deputy didn't dare disagree any further. She rolled her blue eyes and muttered darkly as she stalked away.

Littlepaw and Crystalshard walked over to where Badgerstripe and Winterdream were sharing tongues. A few words and some eyebrow traffic were exchanged between the four cats, and then Crystalshard called to Dreamstar, "We'll be, like, back as soon as possible!"

Dreamstar turned around and yowled back, "Goodbye and good luck, to all of you!" The silver tabby watched as all five of the brave cats set off in search for the missing kit.

--

_I gotta get me back - I can't be beat and that's a fact  
__  
It's OK - I'll find a way_

_You ain't gonna take me down no way_

_Don't judge a thing until you know what's inside it_

_Don't push me - I'll fight it_

_Never gonna give in - never gonna give it up no_

**The song exurb is from**_** You Can't Take Me **_**from **_**Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron**_**.**

**The story will get back on track of Burningkit for the next chapter, so keep watching! I'll bring it as soon as possible.**


	6. The Geometry of Shadows

**To the anonymous user Waffles, this isn't the first time he's spammed my story (and several others in the Warriors section) like this. X.x I'm fairly sure you already knew that, but it still feels quite good for me to write that he can go jump into a lake. :D**

**As for Littlepaw, yes, she will be important… but I won't tell you how! ;D Thank you for giving me my first good review. **

--

Chapter Six: The Geometry of Shadows

There was no fighting it. The undeniable truth slammed into Burningkit like the paw of a mighty warrior against his head. A new sensation crept over his back and washed over him in cruel waves of torment, making his dark eyes gather with tears and his back hunch over like he was trying to keep out the cold.

Burningkit was lost.

All around him, the shadows pressed in a spreading darkness, piercing the very heart of Burningkit's hopes. The mist, through which one wouldn't be able to see a tail-length through, contained water droplets so thick that one would have to breathe through the nose to avoid drowning in the dense fog. The leafless trees bared their twisting claws which scraped against the peaty earth, making each and every one of the tall tyrants look as though they were poised to attack the poor kitten.

The brown tom closed his eyes. Somehow, when staring into the comforting blackness of the insides of your eyelids, you gain a sense of relief which soothes the sore heart and spirit.

It felt nice, in a way.

Burningkit slowly and deeply breathed in. The scent of rain prickled through his nose. The tom figured the smell meant that MoonClan would probably send in the first drizzle of spring sometime soon. His mind wandered away from his fears and gradually came to an interesting point…

_Great MoonClan! I'm not in the FrostClan camp anymore!_ Burningkit's eyes snapped open with the sudden remembering. Rather than glazed with fear, his eyes were shining with mischief and adventure. Suddenly the world was unfolding before the kit's very eyes, as wide and glorious as he could have ever possibly imagined. In an instant he forgot all about being lost and alone in the shadowy wilderness.

Burningkit got onto his paws and began to slowly walk in no particular direction.

The forest seemed to look the same wherever he went, but he didn't care. The brown cat gazed at the remarkable wonders of the tallest trees he brushed by, and relished the feeling of the moist ground squishing between his toes. As he walked, Burningkit came to the odd realization that the mist was getting thinner. _Probably just the afternoon approaching,_ he reasoned.

After a tiring trek, Burningkit saw an opening through the trees. With the fog decently thinner than it was a while ago, Burningkit could see something beyond…

Curious as to what mysteries lay outside FrostClan's forests, Burningkit padded through the opening.

He gasped. What was formerly thick forest had now turned into moorland. The hills gently tumbled and rolled far into the distance, where Burningkit could scarcely see the outline of another set of trees, placed slightly farther away from each other than FrostClan's wood.

Cautiously, Burningkit placed his paw on the ground. The grass had an entirely different feeling than the moss he was used to covering the terrain. It was rigid and prickly with ice, making Burningkit shiver in pain as he took his first step. _All right… steady._ The brown tom gently placed his next paw in front of him, the frost crunching pleasantly beneath his feet. _Huh. Not so bad._ Burningkit, his dark eyes turning playful, leapt onto the next patch of grass and tumbled down a hill. He collapsed in a laughing heap on a springy patch of white grass, rolling around and starting to enjoy the nice feeling of softer frost.

When Burningkit came to, he rolled onto his paws and took a moment to just drink in this half-frozen wonderland. The sky was gray with overcast clouds and the trees were shivering in the sighing wind, cold and defenseless without their vivid green plumage. The whole place was soundless… still… as faint and fading into itself like memory from a dream. Blending into the distance were the strong and silent peaks of mountains, reaching so high that some of their rigid tops were hidden by swirling expanses of dull gray clouds.

_CRACK!!_ An echoing crash was suddenly heard. Burningkit jumped high into the air at the sudden sound. Following the crack were several smaller crackles, sort of sounding like deeper versions of the crunching frost beneath Burningkit's paws only minutes ago. _What was THAT?_ the young tom wondered. He had just noticed that the dark brown fur on his tail had suddenly fluffed out. He absent mindedly started to lick it down, the crackles still loudly going off in the distance.

After a moment, another loud crunch was heard. Burningkit's work on flattening his tail fur was instantly undone. Mumbling, the tom started to wonder where the noise came from. He got to his paws, closing his eyes as the slightly uncomfortable cold washed over him, and perked his fluffy ears. The crackling sound was off somewhere over the moor… and he was going to find it.

The kit began to quietly and stealthily run, his mind buzzing with ideas. What could it be? Could it be a rival clan's patrol? A fox? A rock fall? Out of all the options, Burningkit desperately hoped it was the first one. Foxes and rockslides were always bad news.

He crouched down slightly, his tail low to the ground and brushing the grass. His ears followed the weird sounds and brought him over several hills.

_KABOOM!! _There it was! Many times louder than before, the crash had turned into a regular boom that crashed through Burningkit's aching eardrums.

Burningkit sat down. His ears perked low and his dark eyes had widened to be as round as the full moon. His jaws gaped open in a gasp as he saw what was before him…

A weaving ribbon of ice laced across the white moors. Some spots looked so thick that a falling tree couldn't break it; others looked so thin that a loud noise could cause it to break open into water even colder than the surface. Farther away, Burningkit could see a spectacular, frozen waterfall in the rising distance, lacing in the mountains. The young tom suddenly knew where he was; the river, which exists most of the year, is in fact the Shady Gorge in Greenleaf and early leaf-bare, covering a whole tree's-height deep in some places.

_SLAM!!_ Burningkit turned his head. There, at the waterfall, ice was breaking off and hitting the ground. _So that's what it is!_ Burningkit smiled to himself. It was miraculous and beautiful beyond his youthful imagination.

His thoughts wandered on until he was interrupted, not by the astounding sound of the spectacular falling ice, but by a loud growl from his stomach. Burningkit didn't even have breakfast today. _Gosh, I'm hungry, _he thought. _I wonder how a warrior catches prey?_

Burningkit perked his ears and narrowed his eyes. He crept away from the river to drown out the sounds of the collapsing ice sheets, listening for the beating hearts of unfortunate mice. His nose smelled at the frosty air, feeling chilled at the dampness and the cold which was just a little above zero.

_Tha thump, tha thump, tha thump…_. He began to hear something. It was a heartbeat, going fairly slowly in the cold temperatures. Burningkit stooped low and crept silently towards the sound…

_Tha thump!_ In the bushes! _Tha thump!_ Getting closer…

Burningkit crouched on his haunches, the heartbeat echoing in his ears. He was close. So close! He could almost taste the prey.

In one mighty jump, Burningkit soared into the air and landed on a furry target, immediately, he began to scratch and claw at his prey. The prey squealed and ran in a circle with Burningkit clinging onto its back. _Funny… this mouse is bigger than me…_ Burningkit thought as he quietly took the killing bite.

The small creature collapsed, and Burningkit stepped off it to view his handiwork. First his thoughts were sailing in the clouds at how happy his camp would be when he returned safely with prey that was bigger than he was!

He picked it up and gently tasted some of its blood. His eyes shifted once… twice. It didn't TASTE like a mouse.

Burningkit stepped back a few paces. The creature had brown fur, small eyes, round ears, and a narrow face like a mouse… but its tail was much too wide and its claws were short and blunt. It didn't LOOK completely like a mouse, either.

He walked over and smelled it. No… it wasn't a mouse. Burningkit's dark eyes widened. _If that's not a mouse… then what did I just…?_

A low growl suddenly sounded. Burningkit turned around slowly, suddenly feeling warm air on his back. There, directly behind him, was a monster! It reared up on its haunches baring its teeth and blunt claws. Its yellow eyes glowed with fiery vengeance and its large tail swept at the ground.

_Holy MoonClan!_ Burningkit fearfully thought, _I killed a baby badger!_

--

_What a mistake!_

_I've never been lost_

_I've never been found_

_And it makes no difference, if I'm around_

_There's never been words, never been actions_

_Never made promises that I ever kept_.

**--**

**The song exurb is from "Mistake" by Nickelback.**

**Sorry for not writing this quicker! I've been working on my other active story for several days now and probably spent a little too much time working on this one. I hope to bring the next chapter soon!**


	7. Killed by a Namesake, Pt 1

**Wow… :D Thanks a million, Shellheart, for all the reviews! I've thought about Crystalshard's speech patterns and decided to remove much of the extra slang. He's still going to call Burningkit the "little man," though, as well as having some of the more trippy sounding words garbled only a little. I'm doing this as to keep the flavor of the character intact while making it less distracting and choppy to read.**

**Another thing I'm going to do is a slight change-around of the names for two cats. BadgerSTRIPE is now BadgerCLAW, because his name will emphasize something quite ironic in the following sequence. Also, due to the request of the friend who originally made up the characters for several of the cats, I have changed Wildpaw's name to Cloverpaw.**

**This chapter is actually the first of two chapters, because I could find no clean way to connect them. That's why it's kind of short. Sorry!**

_**Special thanks to Shellheart for being an honest reviewer!**_

--

Chapter 7: Killed by a Namesake, Pt. 1

Farther away, at the edge of the moor, Littlepaw shuddered in the blistering cold. _Perfect. JUST perfect._ _I'm out here freezing my tail off, in the cold…_

Badgerclaw sighed, "Oh, Burningkit… why would you run off like this?" Littlepaw perked up her ears and looked on at Burningkit's worried father.

Crystalshard rubbed his head on Badgerclaw's shoulder. "Don't worry, Badgerclaw. The little man will be just fine once we get him back home."

The towering tom sighed quietly, his brown eyes desolate. "I hope so."

Littlepaw groaned inwardly. As much as she wanted to see Burningkit return safely, she really didn't want to go on this mission. All she could imagine was getting home with Burningkit and then hopping back to the warm apprentice's den and wrestling with Dragonpaw.

"You okay?" Crystalshard walked over and sat next to Littlepaw. His sharp blue eyes were glazed with worry.

Littlepaw sighed, "Yes… I think. I feel kind of scared. We're standing nearby the FrostClan border with TreeClan, aren't we?"

"Actually," Crystalshard corrected, "We're AT the border. This is neutral territory ahead of us, and across the frozen river is where TreeClan lives. Don' worry, though; they're nice cats, and will completely understand if we cross their territory in search for Burningkit, if we have to."

Littlepaw smiled when she looked at the tall, white warrior. He always seemed to say just the right words to make someone feel better.

"Should we move on?" came a new voice. Winterdream swished her dark blue-gray tail and meowed in her enchantingly deep voice, "I entirely doubt he could've made it past this border."

Badgerclaw glared at her forebodingly, "We aren't going to stop until we find my son. Let's go."

Winterdream nodded assent and began to lead the patrol on into the neutral territories. Littlepaw stared at the ghostly landscape which was laid out over this winter afternoon. Even though it was only a little past morning, it felt like twilight was prying its orangey-gray fingers through the protective layer of thick clouds.

"YAAAAAHH!!" A loud shout echoed over the landscape. The patrol lifted their heads to the sound.

"Whatwuzzat?" Crystalshard stuttered. Littlepaw shrank down, her ears backward and face twisted with fear. Badgerclaw looked on, obviously worried, and Winterdream was staring towards the hills.

For a moment there was silence… other sounds were drowned by the sheer forbiddances of this place until a similar yelp was heard, "Yeh-YAAAH!! HEEEELP!!"

"BURNINGKIT!" Badgerclaw shouted. He started to run off in the direction of the screaming. Littlepaw, Winterdream, and Crystalshard ran after him, letting Burningkit's anxious father take the lead.

--

A few hills away, Burningkit had just learned what a monster really looked like.

When the badger stood, it seemed to be taller and mightier than the great mountains themselves. Its claws glinted unnaturally against the hazy gray light. It revealed two rows of sharp, yellow teeth in its black mouth.

With a thundering bellow, the beast slammed its claws into the rock. Burningkit, completely unprepared of the attack, only just managed to jump out of its way. He yelped defenselessly as he made a lung to scratch its leg.

It must have felt like a flea bite, but the badger was obviously infuriated. Burningkit squealed as he made a sharp start and fast turn in order to avoid being smashed by its long, blunt claws. In any other circumstance, Burningkit would be standing up to the badger with stupidly bold bravery and probably getting flattened in the process. In this case, the young tom was running for his life, trying to shake of the rampaging monster, but he seemed to be getting nowhere.

Either way, Burningkit felt the withering feeling in his chest that he was going to die.

"HEEELP! SOMEBODY!" Burningkit yelped as the badger nearly bit off some of his brown tail fur. The badger, not expecting his quick evasion of its bite, stumbled and lost its footing, tumbling down and crashing on its back. Burningkit seized the opportunity to run away as fast as he could.

The rising wind pushed against his face as the kit raced away from the hill. It roared menacingly in his ears and blinded his eyes with tears of pain. His pads cramped agonizingly against the icy grass, but he kept running. By the horrible growls and calls of rage of the badger, Burningkit guessed that the creature was not far behind. But he wasn't stupid enough to risk a look.

The grunts and growls were getting louder and louder. Burningkit could feel its foul breath on his tail. He knew that the badger wouldn't stop until it had destroyed the source of whatever killed its cub. The tom gritted his teeth and took in a deep breath...

"HHHHHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLPPP!!"

"YAH!"

Burningkit tripped to the grass, his head spinning with the wintery colors of the afternoon. He turned his head around, expecting to face a beast that was poised to kill, but instead saw it shrinking back. "Hm?" Burningkit, slowly and painfully, got to his paws and stared, his eyes still wet and blurry, at the fading scene…

Four cats were hissing and growling in front of him, each of them staring down the badger. Burningkit couldn't recognize any of them; his eyes were too wet to identify who was who, and the clean, frosty air prevented him from naming them by scent. The brown tom groggily stared at them, his watering eyes pinched down.

The badger wouldn't tolerate this uprising. It lunged after one of the cats, who appeared to have a dark brown coat. Something about that cat seemed familiar…

Burningkit's head drummed in the paralyzing cold. His breathing was quick and shallow, making rasping gasps every time he inhaled. His heart, starting to pound even louder in his ears, was beginning to block out external sounds. Burningkit's eyes began to wander. _The ice… is so peaceful… so beautiful…._

"NRAAH!" The brown cat struck the badger with a heavy paw. The badger, angered by the attack, reared back and stomped forward in an attempt to ward off the pesky cats. The others started to surround the badger and fight.

Burningkit growled to himself when he saw the brown cat fighting. Who _was _that guy? He looked so familiar! Burningkit's breathing grew shallower and fainter, still sounding as though it were rolling through gravel to get to his lungs. The tom's heartbeat grew louder in his head. His knees buckled beneath him, making him collapse on the ground. As he fell, the ringing in his ears throughout his clouding head brought along a sudden realization… a brown cat with a white stripe… it was—!

"Dad!" he mumbled. The kit tried to shout out to his father, but the cry caught in his aching throat. He coughed weakly, trying bravely to get up and help... but he was too weak to stand. His mind fogged as he fell down once again, his knees caving in beneath him. "Dad… don't…."

Badgerclaw couldn't hear him. Just like the badger, he was in a trance of parental fury. The ferocity of an angry parent is a terrible thing. He wouldn't stop until he was sure it would back down.

But neither would the badger.

Burningkit's mind continued to spiral into darkness. The cold air and heavy breathing from the exhausting run was too much for his young lungs and heart to handle. The scene before him once again began to melt within itself, a swirling montage of blurry wintery colors… then it started fading into shapes… and shadows… and… finally… the world washed away, in a wave of black.

--

_A voice_

_Underground echoes_

_I'm like a color_

_That faded away_

**The song exurb is from **_**Song of Darkness**_** by Dragon.**

**Just for the record, the next part will be slightly delayed in posting because I will be at a convention for several days. :) In the meantime, any feedback would be nice. G'bye!**


	8. Killed by a Namesake, Pt 2

**I've researched a somewhat disturbing phenomenon that people who run too fast for too long in really cold weather tend to start breathing so hard and so quickly that it begins to take most of their energy to stand. They also start to not think too clearly, as Burningkit demonstrates. If one goes beyond his limit and stamina in the ice and snow, his breathing may become so shallow as to not allow him to remain conscious... his blood doesn't get enough oxygen for him to stay awake.**

**I'm SO sorry I didn't update in ages! I got to go on a business trip with my father, where I got sick. :( Then I had writer's block, and THEN my computer got a virus. X___x So here's the long overdue continuing of the first chronicle.**

--

Killed by a Namesake, Pt. 2

In an instant, everything exploded in fiery colors; shades of gold, brown, and red were painted against a positively azure sky. Crows passed against the sun, casting shadows on the canopies' of the leaf-bare trees. A light breeze calmly filtered through the falling leaves. Not a sound penetrated the deafening silence of the crisp air.

Farther away, in the FrostClan camp, sounds filled the hollow. Venomclaw and Winterdream shared tongues by the fresh-kill pile, where the newly-apprenticed Crystalpaw placed his first catch. Cloverkit marveled at the lichen growing on the walls and Dragonkit was roughly tumbling with Littlekit.

Entering the hidden glade came Badgerclaw, a proud and noble warrior carrying a mouthful of dead mice. His muddy-brown fur glowed with a well-kept shine, and the white stripe which ran down his back from his head to the tip of his tail highlighted his brown eyes.

"All right, all right. Be safe now!"

A brown flash darted out of the nursery. It was Burningkit, only younger. His eyes were still blue with early kittenhood, and his paws were large and clumsy compared to his body. The moment he saw his father, he squealed, "Daddy!"

Badgerclaw turned to look at his son. He purred happily as Burningkit raced towards him and bowled his father right into the walls of the FrostClan camp. The young tom gently nipped his father's ear and pretended to growl threateningly.

"Help! It's a ferocious LionClan cat!" Badgerclaw yelled exaggeratingly. He gasped and fell over, his tongue lolling out of his mouth.

Burningkit mewled playfully and bit Badgerclaw's tail. "RAWR!" he mewled. The kitten rolled onto his side and began to bat around the twitching tail.

Badgerclaw got up when Burningkit delivered a particularly painful bite. "Yow!" Restraining the tears in his eyes, he turned around and smiled. "Watch the teeth, my little warrior. Save that adventurous spirit for your apprenticeship!"

The kitten puffed out his chest and proudly exclaimed, "I don't need to. I'm gonna be the best warrior in all of FrostClan!"

"Of course you will," Badgerclaw purred. He licked his son's head.

"Do you really think so?"

"I don't think so. I _know_ so." Burningkit looked up at his father. He was so tall… so proud… would he ever really be like that?

"Burningkit!" Burningkit turned to see Crystalpaw galumphing towards him in a white tangle of fur and whiskers. "Eh, Burningkit! Wanna go play with Dragonkit and me? She's getting restless!"

"I'll be right there!" Burningkit ran off to join his companions in a tumble-fight. Halfway there, the tom turned around and meowed, "Dad?"

"Yes, son?"

"Do you think we'll ever fight together? As warriors?"

"Well, I certainly hope so." Badgerclaw smiled. His milky brown eyes shone with a parental love.

Burningkit almost began to race over to where Crystalpaw and Dragonkit were playing when he turned around again. "Hey, dad?"

"Yes?"

"I love you, dad."

Badgerclaw gently pounced on Burningkit and licked his head. "I love you too, son."

--

"Burningkit…!"

"BURNINGKIT…!"

A loud scream pierced the fading vision…

--

In the same rush that exploded Burningkit into the fantasy, he felt an outside force tugging him out. The colors of the cool leaf-bare climate disintegrated in a flurry of dark grays and whites.

Blinking water out of his eyes, the young tom shakily sat up. _Am I dead?_

A new scene melted before him… replacing the open spaces of the FrostClan hollow in late leaf-bare was a frosty, confined cave. The cave was tall enough for two cats to stand on each other's shoulders and touch the ceiling.

A cold droplet of water on Burningkit's head reawakened his other senses.

Above him, stalactites of ice dripped its thawing contents onto the rocky floor. Rows upon rows of assorted herbs lined the nooks and crannies of the cave.

_Wait a minute… I'm in the medicine cat's den?_

Suddenly, a soft sob broke through the silence. Burningkit turned his head to a corner, where a small, light-brown cat sat, hunched over, in her bed. "Cloverpaw?"

Cloverpaw continued to sob, her frilly brown tail wrapped around her paws comfortingly. Burningkit couldn't see her face, but he knew she was crying.

"Cloverpaw, what's wrong?"

She slowly turned her head. Her flattened face was dripping with tears. Burningkit could tell she was trying to speak, but her crying only broke out into frantic bawling.

Then Burningkit remembered.

Slowly, like a catastrophe unfolding, a tear rolled in Burningkit's eyes and dropped with a sickening thud as it slammed against the cavern floor.

Nothing was right anymore.

The once daring kit now began to weep.

--

_And now my life has changed in oh so many ways,_

_My independence seems to vanish in the haze._

_But every now and then I feel so insecure,_

_I know that I just need you like I've never done before._

**The song exurb is from "Help!" by the Beatles.**

**Once again, I greatly apologize for not updating in so long! I'll try to get to it more often, but with my tremendous amount of schoolwork, it will not be as frequent as it once was.**

**I'll update very soon!**

**Truly,**

**~Dreamnorn.**


	9. An Idea

**Shandril Weilder of Spellfire: I shall accept that as a complement. ;)**

**Yes, in this early stage of the story, I have already killed off one of the characters. Don't feel too sad for Burningkit yet… just you wait until later on!**

**EDIT (12/13/08): Thanks, Shellheart, for letting me know about the spelling errors. I hopefully found them all...  
**

**--**

Chapter Eight: An Idea

"Where is he?" Burningkit snarled. For a young cat approaching six moons of age, he was starting to be even bigger than Cloverpaw. He stood up, his fangs bared and back arched narrowly.

"Where's my dad?!"

Cloverpaw looked up at him with wide, scared eyes. Her normally green eyes, now a placid yellow from the crying, were wetting with fear and more tears. Holding her breath, the pale brown she-cat stared up to the menacing beast, impatiently awaiting an answer.

"Cloverpaw," a new voice came, "is Burningkit awake yet?" Shifting into the medicine cat's den was a tall and majestic beauty. Her creamy white fur shown in ripples across her pelt, and her snowy whiskers bowed to the ice around her. The dark green pools of her eyes were deep; deeper and darker than some of life's greatest mysteries yet to be revealed.

The instant Burningkit heard her voice, he quieted down. The fur on his back still stood on end, and his eyes were still bloodshot and teary, but he sat down and flashed an anguished look to the medicine cat.

"Rosepetal," Cloverpaw whispered. Bowing respectfully, she turned around to face her mentor. The tall she-cat just nodded and smiled.

Burningkit couldn't bring himself to look. He closed his eyes, trying to find some refuge in the comforting darkness. He sighed.

None was there.

Still keeping his eyes closed, Burningkit's other senses seemed to be drowning him. His emotions were lit by an unseen flare, exploding in his chest and desperately clawing to be unleashed and shouted to the skies. His ears pounded with the sounds of everything nearby: the dripping of the melting ice, the gentle confiding of a mentor to her apprentice, and the pounding beat of his breaking heart.

Then, finally, he spoke.

"Where is he?"

His voice was cold and menacing, like wind against broken branches. Though he couldn't see, he could tell his mouth was open, breathing in and out… in… and out…

Nobody responded.

One second.

Two.

A drop of water splashed to the floor…

Burningkit's eyes exploded open. He stood up, jumping out of his bed, cornering the medicine cats. Rosepetal looked at him, unfazed by his daunting position. Burningkit didn't look at Cloverpaw, but he could hear her whimper. "WHERE IS HE?!"

Rosepetal's cool, green eyes pierced the kit's glowing eyes, hot with tears. Her calm expression almost seemed soothing, like the herbs she used to treat her patients. With a sigh, she curled her long tail around her paws; a sign that, no matter what she would say, he must accept it.

"I'm sorry, Burningkit. Your father really _is_ dead." Her voice ran as sweet as honey, but it hit Burningkit so hard that it felt more like she had struck him in the chest.

The kit paused. Suddenly, the whole world had turned upside down. Everything around him suddenly seemed to be as false as shadows, with all sounds turning into the infernal yowling of dead souls trying to pry their way out of the Shadow Forest.

All at once, Burningkit's anger melted away. Washing out like a memory of a dream, his cold, menacing stare was replaced with quiet, scared eyes.

The eyes of a kitten who had just lost his father.

--

A sort of silence had befallen the FrostClan camp that afternoon. The warriors were either all out on their own, hunting for the prey pile, or lingering in the camp like sleepy ghosts. The nursery was empty of Darkspirit, who had said she wanted to go out alone earlier. Who would have tried to stop her? Her mate had died that day.

Even the apprentices seemed to be joining in to the quiet mourning that hung over the camp like a cloud waiting to rain. Littlepaw, lost in her own thoughts, slowly and carefully removed burrs from the elder's coats. Even the ever-noisy Dragonpaw had piped down to the new rhythm of the camp.

Crystalshard leisurely entered the camp, his eyes damp and tired. Carrying a frosty mouse in his mouth, he gradually ambled to the prey pile.

Dragonpaw looked up from her depressive state at the drooping warrior. Standing on her fiery red paws, she shakily walked to where the white warrior sat down, his head bowed. "Hey, Crystalshard," she grumbled, "you depressed too?"

He sighed and whimpered, "Yeah… yeah, I am." He stared off into the distance with his impenetrable, cow-like eyes. Not even a mighty force, like an earthquake or a rock fall, could disrupt _this_ stare.

Dragonpaw just sat there. Her head was roaring with questions; Crystalshard was never this depressed. She gruffly coughed and burbled, "Why so glum?"

The white warrior turned his head towards the she-cat and meowed, "I'm worried about the little man. I haven't seen him in ages; he's been at the burial place all day."

"Well, what did you expect?" Dragonpaw growled, "YOU sat vigil at the burial place when your father was killed in battle." Crystalshard slowly turned away. His ears were drooping down over his cheeks, blocking Dragonpaw's view of his icy blue eyes. A low rumble pricked in the she-cat's throat. She couldn't stand to see Crystalshard THIS sad.

He sighed again. His breath on her face felt even colder than the snow which gradually skated out of the gray skies. The very sound of his melancholy sigh made even the wind moan in sympathy for the warrior. A single snowflake landed on his pink nose, but he was too dejected to care.

Dragonpaw flicked her dark red tail. Her amber eyes, normally sharper than icicles, now sparkled with pity. She snarled, "Well, what are you going to do about it? I don't think there's any way we can make him happy after what happened."

Crystalshard didn't respond. Drooping sadly, he still stared off to a vague corner of the camp to some invisible force somewhere beyond the medicine cat's den. Dragonpaw only watched his breath make clouds which hung in the air of the camp.

Suddenly, one of his ears twitched.

Crystalshard sat up straighter. His eyes were glowing with confidence, as though he just had a stroke of inspiration. His ears perked forward again, highlighting his almost dominant looking stand. The tom smiled a proud grin; the kind that you see on a hero's face after an important victory. Under his breath he mumbled a single word…

"Awesometastic."

"Pardon?"

"I have an idea!" Crystalshard boldly stated, "This is a surefire way to make the little man happy again." He ran off in the direction of the Stonetree, where Dreamstar was resting in her den. The she-cat faintly smiled at his sudden change of temperament, knowing full well that it wasn't a smart idea to try and stop him.

Dragonpaw also knew it wasn't wise to go and ask Crystalshard what his plan was. She knew somewhere in the back of her mind that he probably would have given her an explanation.

--

**No song lyrics today! Sorry!**

**This chapter felt kind of weird, both to read and to write. If you have any suggestions for this chapter's improvement, I'd be happy to hear from you.**


	10. Mourning Interrupted

**Wow! Thanks for the feedback, Moonfire and Shellheart (again ;) )!**

**And, I indeed agree that you should figure out what idea this is… though I'm quite sure you'll find out in this next chapter. I guess you'll just have to read on to find out!**

--

Mourning Interrupted

For a long time Burningkit lurked in the forest. He stalked near the ground, his head hung low and his tail dragged along behind him. Every pawstep felt like another moon slipping out of Burningkit's feet and into the ground, never to return to his ebbing life. The indentations he left in the marshy earth quickly filled with water.

For the first time in Burningkit's life, it had begun to rain. If he were in a better mood, he would have been thankful that the endless leaf-bare was finally drawing away and that, for the first time in his life, he could see trees of green instead of white.

But Burningkit felt like he couldn't care anymore.

He breathed softly, watching as the clouds of his breath were quickly slain and dispersed by the many falling raindrops. Though only water, the rain felt like a shower of stones and sticks atop his head, trying to tear away more of Burningkit's shedding leaf-bare fur. The tom barely noticed, however. He was too depressed inside to feel the pain of the world around him.

After wandering for a long time uninterrupted, Burningkit found himself wading through thorny tendrils of wet bracken. With a soft grunt, the seething kitten forced his way through the bush. The prickles tore at his right ear, making the kit wail in agony. For a moment, a stunned Burningkit wondered why one of his ears hurt so much after just going through a small prickle-bush. The tom sighed as he pulled his tail through, grimacing as more of the burning pain stung at his ear.

"Finally," he sighed. Burningkit's dark eyes scanned over a barren clearing before him. Though only half the size of the hollow where FrostClan resided, this small place contained the body and spirits of every deceased member of the FrostClan of the past.

There, near the center of the small hollow, was a cat-sized area covered with a new layer of mud and peat.

Burningkit walked to the burial mound where he was sure his father now lay. He sat down, his eyes closed; closed to everything around him, allowing not even the blistering pain of his ear to disturb the silence of his quiet angst. For a long time Burningkit stood there… his eyes never opened, not once, during his lengthy vigil.

At last, a sound pierced the impenetrable, noiseless atmosphere. "Little man? Are you okay?"

Burningkit's eyes flashed open. Slowly, ominously, the kitten turned around. His ears were swiveled low, and he could feel the tips of his front canines sticking out of his upper lip. He stared viciously at the cat behind him. Breathing slow as not to provoke a reaction, Burningkit mustered up all his self-control and growled, "What?"

There, in the rain, stood Crystalshard; a cat of white amongst the brown, dead landscape. With a gentle nudge, the tom meowed, "You've been here since dawn. Are you okay?"

"Am I okay?" Burningkit roared. Forgetting his restraint, he stood up, letting the wet hair on his back curl into dark rows of spikes. Spitting the words out like venom, he cried, "How can I be okay when my father is DEAD?!"

Crystalshard only took a pace forward, his blue eyes wetter than the rain with his sympathy for the kit. "Take it easy, little man," he murmured. Despite Burningkit's internal frustration, his friend walked over to him and started to lick his head comfortingly.

A short sigh of relief escaped Burningkit's lips. As Crystalshard backed away, the kit asked, "How did he die?"

"Pardon?"

"How did he die? My dad, I mean…"

Crystalshard paused awkwardly. The rain continued to pound against the ground, washing away the last bits of slush that remained from the dying leaf-bare. Empty trees moaned as the wind chilled over their exposed appendages, their branches rattling like pebbles in a swift current.

After a long silence, he meowed, "Well, if you really wanna know, I suppose I can tell you. You see, we were fighting the badger with all our strength. Littlepaw showed bravery I had never seen in her before, and I fought as though my very life was at stake. But apparently, it wasn't _my_ life that was on the line…"

The white warrior quieted for a moment. "The badger was too strong… too angry. Badgerclaw fought hard, but the beast fought harder. After your father wore out, the creature slammed its heavy claws against his head and literally knocked him dead." Crystalshard bowed his head. "He was a great warrior. I'm sorry, Burningkit."

The small, brown tom just stared at Crystalshard. Suddenly, the white warrior meowed in surprise, "Your lip is bleeding."

Burningkit sat down. He opened his mouth and licked his lower lip. Crystalshard was right. The tangy flavor of blood stung the kit's taste buds like liquid fire. For a moment he wondered how it could've happened, when he finally mused, "I guess I cut it when I walked through the prickle bush." He turned to his friend and asked, "But why does my ear hurt so much? It's been driving me madder than a disturbed bee's nest!"

"I think the badger struck you in the head or something. It's torn." Crystalshard flicked his tail. "I was told by Rosepetal that the pain will go away eventually, but your ear will never heal completely."

"Brilliant," Burningkit grumbled. He looked to the ground darkly. Now he could never shake it off. His father's death would linger forever as a split in his ear… a sign of how he had also received a tear to his heart, with the loss of his parent.

Crystalshard changed the subject, "Actually, Burningkit, I was sort of wondering if you could come with me to the FrostClan camp. Dreamstar would like to see you."

"Dreamstar?" Burningkit lifted his head, his dark eyes meeting Crystalshard's softening stare. "What does the clan leader want with me?"

A huge grin spread on the warrior's face. "She wants to make you an apprentice."

--

**No song lyrics! (Dang, I need to listen to more songs…)**

**I am SO sorry for the wait! My Spyro: Truth or Dare has been occupying a lot of my spare time lately because of the amount of attention it requires. I'll be able to update this more, though, with Winter Break coming up.**

**And now another cliffhanger! What is this madness?! I can update again probably within the week, or maybe next week, but I promise you that I'll update sooner than last time!**


	11. A New Day, A New Name

**Next chappie! YAY~!**

**--**

A New Day, A New Name

"WHAT?!" Burningkit exclaimed. He turned around, gaping in astonishment at the white warrior. "Why didn't you just say so in the first place?"

Crystalshard snorted and winked, "You were kind of in a grumpy mood. Besides, I kind of figgered that I'd wait until you'd calmed down a bit. I mean, growling at me like that won't catch prey, you know!"

Trying to contain his excitement, Burningkit breathed, "Yeah… right… sorry about that…"

"No problem, little man," Crystalshard purred. "But if you want to get there in time, you'd better hurry. Dreamstar told me earlier that it would be held at sundown, and twilight's nearly here."

"Well, _come on_ then!" Faster than a thunderclap, the young tom raced as fast as he could to the camp.

"Hey!" Crystalshard laughed. "Wait for me!"

Burningkit didn't hear him. The kit sped through the underbrush, leaping over brambles and stumbling over tree roots. Falling leaves were kicked in the air as he ran, his tail swishing around eagerly in the prospect of his apprentice ceremony. As his eyes watered against the wind, Burningkit felt energy build up underneath his paws, begging to be released in his first day as an apprentice.

--

It seemed like forever for Burningkit, but at long last he could feel the mossy padding beneath his feet, indicating that the FrostClan camp was just beyond the thicker trees. With a rush, a jump, and a whoop of pure enthusiasm, the kit leaped into the camp, his thick, brown pelt rippling against the sky.

With a thud, he landed on top of a warrior who was sitting in a row of cats along the right half of the hollow. "Sorry," Burningkit mumbled as he stumbled into the middle of the FrostClan camp.

"Watch it, mousebrain!" the warrior hissed. Burningkit's heart did a quick back flip when he realized it was Falconcry, whose temper was unmatchable by any other cat in the entire valley. He could tell that she was barely restraining unsheathing her claws.

Burningkit smiled sheepishly and turned slowly around. He gaped. Almost all of the FrostClan cats were gathered below the Stonetree, staring at him.

From above, Burningkit heard a long, low yowl, like the sound of a badger moaning in pain. Dreamstar, on her thick, leaning branch of the Stonetree, was making the sound, her silver pelt sparkling with dampness and her dark stripes clashing against her sharp blue eyes. All the other cats returned the yowl, starting with Bluedawn, then Rosepetal, and finally progressing to the other cats who were all waiting for their leader to speak.

"Hello, Burningkit. I was beginning to think that you wouldn't show up." Dreamstar swished her long, furry tail with the slightest hint of impatience.

"I'm sorry Dreamstar," Burningkit panted, still exhilarated from his run.

Dreamstar, whose expression was unreadable, only meowed, "Come forth."

As Burningkit walked up the makeshift 'steps' of the Stonetree, he could feel a new light hit his back. The whole clearing was suddenly illuminated with a bright glow. Burningkit glanced up briefly to see a blue sky for the first time in his waking memory.

_It's beautiful…_ he thought as he stood up before his leader. Towering above him like a MoonClan spirit, she boomed, "From this day forward, until he has earned his warrior name, this apprentice will be called Burningpaw."

With a thrill of happiness, Burningpaw felt the cold nose of his leader against his shoulder. The chills sent a new wave of ripples across his back.

"As for his mentor…" Dreamstar paused, stepping back a pace from the young tom. "I shall do it. It has been moons since I have taken on an apprentice, and something tells me that _this_ one will need a little extra care." With a good natured grin, Dreamstar touched noses with Burningpaw.

Burningpaw had to breathe slowly to stifle a gasp of delight. _Dreamstar, my new mentor?_ the young tom mentally gaped, absolutely gobsmacked. He, of all young cats, was going to be mentored by the noble leader of FrostClan.

"Burningpaw! Burningpaw!" the whole clan chanted, looking up at the small tom who, after much pain and sorrow, had become an apprentice at last.

"BURNINGPAW!" One cry was shouted above all others. Burningpaw turned to see Crystalshard coming in from the side of the clearing with sticks poking out of his pelt. Overjoyed at seeing his best friend over the low ridge, the newly-named apprentice ran towards him.

Crystalshard laughed as he was bowled over by Burningpaw. "I'm an apprentice!" he shouted, perking his ears up happily.

"Congratulations."

"Congrats!"

Burningpaw shimmied off of Crystalshard and looked at Dragonpaw and Littlepaw approaching him. Quickly turning back to face his companion, he gaped, "How'd you do it? I was starting to think that I'd never be apprenticed!"

Crystalshard sat up and mock-loftily meowed, "Yeah, well, I just gave her the ol' Crystalshard charm and she instantly agreed!" He puffed out his chest and posed in front of the young apprentices, making all three of them snicker.

"You were getting kind of old for the nursery," Dragonpaw meowed in her throaty voice. Her unpleasant yellowy eyes were flickering with pleasure. "You could say that I was looking forward to it, too."

"Why's that?" Burningpaw asked, curious to as what could make him sound as if he were wanted.

Littlepaw whispered shyly, "Well… we…"

"Aw, man! Your entry was BEAUTIFUL!" Dragonpaw interjected. "You _flew_ in here! I mean, it looked as if you had suddenly sprouted wings! How'd you do that?"

Burningpaw was just about to answer his peer's eager question when he heard Dreamstar padding up to him. He turned around, dark eyes wide with a sudden pulse of fear, and quickly bowed his head in respect.

Dreamstar chuckled, "There's no need to be so formal, Burningpaw."

"There isn't?" The apprentice opened one eye to look up at his leader.

"I come to you right now as your mentor rather than clan leader. I only wanted to say that I expect to see you at first light by the camp entrance, so I can give you a tour of the territory. I'll educate you on the earth around us, and after a while we can perhaps do a little combat or hunting practice before dark." The silver tabby turned to look at her pupil. "Is that all right with you?"

Burningpaw wiggled with delight and bit his lip to restrain a giggle. He looked up at Dreamstar with large, excited eyes and stuttered, "Yes, ma'am!"

"Excellent," Dreamstar smiled. Her sharp eyes seemed to be just as confident as Burningpaw felt. In one fluid movement, she got up as a wave of silver and black and padded off to where Bluedawn sat discussing with the senior warriors.

"_Anyway…_" Dragonpaw beamed, "if you want to be rested for tomorrow, you'd better get a good night's sleep." Her auburn tail swished around happily, glowing like a brand of fire in the sun.

Burningpaw, grinning like an idiot, laughed, "All right! Time to go to the apprentices' den!" He quivered with delight. _Apprentice._ The word tasted so nice on his tongue, like the succulent flesh of a fresh-killed mouse.

As he raced towards his new place of sleep, Burningpaw bumped into Darkspirit, who was hovering by the apprentices' den entrance. Staring up into the eyes of his mother, he bid a quick, "Sorry, mom."

"So, you're going to sleep in the apprentices' den tonight?"

Burningpaw looked up at his mother, enthusiasm shining in his dark eyes. "Of course, mother. I'm an apprentice now!" He rubbed against his mother, who was as rigid as a tree trunk.

"I'm happy for you, son." Her voice sounded bitter.

Burningpaw took no heat of this. He raced into the den and jumped into a pile of old bedding.

The moss, though old, felt like down beneath his head. Burningpaw purred as he felt the cool dirt and moss beneath his pelt, absorbing some of the warmth of the setting sun.

"I see you've found Crystalshard's old bed," came a small, polite voice. Burningpaw sleepily opened one eye up to Littlepaw, who was entering the den with Dragonpaw. "Since he doesn't sleep there anymore, I'm sure that you can make a nest there."

Burningpaw didn't respond. He only closed his eyes again. His purring grew louder as he felt the warmth of Dragonpaw and Littlepaw's bodies snuggling close to him like a blanket of warmth over the chilly, approaching night.

Almost subconsciously, he noticed that the pain in his ear had vanished.

--

_Things are looking up! _

_  
I've been looking the landscape over _

_  
And it's covered with four leaf clover, _

_  
Oh things are looking up _

_  
Since love looked up at me. _

_  
Bitter was my heart, _

_  
But no more will I be the mourner, _

_  
For I've certainly turned the corner. _

_  
Oh things are looking up_

**The lyrics are from the song "Things are Looking Up" from… some artist I don't know.**

**For the first time in about twenty bajillion years, I've **_**finally**_** found song lyrics for my story! YES! I also managed to write something happy, so I'm officially appeased. :3**


	12. The Lay of the Land

**It's time for Burningpaw's first day as an apprentice! What shall happen to him now? (dramatic music plays)**

_**Dedicated to dear little Rodin, who died a few weeks ago from the stomach flu. You had so much to learn. I hope God gives you a better chance next time.**_

--

The Lay of the Land

"ASLEEP?!" A loud roar broke the morning tranquility like an earthquake. Burningpaw awoke to dull gray light gently filtering through the web of reeds that covered the apprentices' den.

_Must be almost sunrise,_ he thought. A little groggy from his disturbed sleep, the small cat got up and out of his bed. Burningpaw sniffed the bedding once and was instantly jolted awake by the foul odor. "Ugh!" he recoiled, wrinkling his nose. "I need to get some fresh bedding."

"What kind of excuse is that!?" The same voice shouted.

Burningpaw stretched once and cautiously padded over the sleeping Littlepaw, off to hopefully discover the curious disturbance of the normally silent dawn.

Nearby the entrance of the clearing, Burningpaw could see Bluedawn glaring down at Crystalshard, her blue fur in rigid spikes dangerously across her back. The deputy's eyes were glowing with hate, even though the white warrior seemed to take absolutely no notice of her hostility.

"Let me get this straight," Bluedawn softly snarled, "You were tired on guard duty, so you fell asleep."

"_Please_," Crystalshard meowed, swishing his white tail beneath Bluedawn's chin, "I prefer the term, 'quietly observing the insides of my eyelids'."

"QUIETLY?! I've heard Firethroat be quieter than you!"

"Well why are you so grumpy?"

Bluedawn yowled with anger, looking like she was just about ready to tear Crystalshard in two. With a hiss of rage, she roared, "WHAT THE HECK IS _WRONG_ WITH YOU?!"

"What's going on?" Dreamstar approached the bickering warriors.

Bluedawn breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm so glad you're here, Dreamstar. This… this _frogspawn,_" she spat, "fell asleep on guard duty!"

Burningpaw walked towards them, his dark eyes shining with confusion. "What's so bad about falling asleep?"

There was an awkward silence.

At last, Dreamstar sighed, "My apprentice, you have so much to learn." She turned to Crystalshard. "Is Bluedawn right in telling me you fell asleep while you were guarding the camp?"

Crystalshard nodded, "Yeah, but queen burrfur here wouldn't let me say anything." The tom cleared his throat. "I asked Venomfang to replace me on guard, which he ever-so-generously did."

"Really?" Dreamstar meowed, a tint of uncertainty in her shimmering eyes. "Bluedawn, will you check with Venomfang about it?"

Bluedawn rolled her eyes and grunted in irritation. The deputy quickly spat at Crystalshard's feet, and with one final glare she stalked away, her wispy blue tail swishing against the solid, stone ground.

Dreamstar murmured, "Please forgive Bluedawn, young warrior. She may not be the easiest cat to get along with, but she has a good heart."

Crystalshard only nodded as Dreamstar padded off after her irritated deputy.

"What was that all about?" Burningpaw asked. "For MoonClan's sake, Crystalshard, stop setting her off!"

"Hey!" Crystalshard retorted, "Bluedawn was always innately hostile towards me, for unfathomable reasons…."

"Could it _possibly_ be because you once put a drowned mouse in her bed?" Burningpaw meowed dryly.

"Oh yeah…"

Burningpaw sighed with part respect and part exasperation for his forgetful friend. "Never mind. I'm off to go on a tour of the territory."

Crystalshard purred, "Have a fun time!"

Burningpaw smiled, but said nothing. Without another word, the young apprentice walked to the front entrance and began to wait.

--

"Terribly sorry about that," Dreamstar mewed. Though she had told Burningpaw that the tour of the FrostClan territory would start at the crack of dawn, her deputy's argument with Crystalshard delayed it until the early morning, where the sun was almost in the center of the sky. Burningpaw's new mentor looked a little embarrassed.

"No worries," Burningpaw replied, his tail swishing excitedly against the ground, "I just can't wait to start! Where are the borders? Are we going to the river? Who's this 'Firethroat' cat? What is—?"

Dreamstar laughed, "All in due time, Burningpaw! At this rate, we won't leave the camp until sunset."

"Oh…" The new apprentice drooped his ears a little. "I'm sorry."

The silver tabby only purred, "Just come with me and I'll show you around." With that, Dreamstar flew into the bushes and disappeared from sight.

Burningpaw gasped, "Hey, wait up!" As he pelted after his mentor, his small paws thudding against the ground and scratching against the dead underbrush. He glimpsed at the barren trees against blue skies, marveling at their contrasting colors. The bracken beneath his feet was just as brown as the rest of the area, smelling of dirty slush and decay.

_I wonder if everyone's right? Will this whole place really be green someday?_

"OOF!" The completely unaware apprentice rammed right into Dreamstar, his dark eyes watering and his flank rising and falling with quick, shallow breaths. "What… was… that… about…?" Burningpaw panted, his pink tongue lolling out with each puff for air.

"Well, if we are to fit in our whole touring of the territory, then we should make some haste, shall we?" Dreamstar teased, batting her tail lightly against Burningpaw's nose. Burningpaw, a little uncomfortable, shied away a pace or two.

"Do you recognize this place?" Dreamstar asked. Burningpaw padded through the trees to view rolling hills into moors, a river flowing slowly by melting ice, and a long stretch of scarce scrubland on the other side.

Burningpaw gulped. "Yes…" he breathed, feeling his fur grow hot. This is where he ran away not but a few days ago, when he had an impulsive breakdown on the outskirts of the FrostClan camp.

"I can smell your embarrassment," Dreamstar meowed. She quickly sat down and wrapped her silver tail around her white paws. "It is here, at this ridge, where our territory separates into the neutral lands between us and TreeClan."

A little puzzled, Burningpaw asked, "Why do we have to have neutral territory when we're on this side of the river? And why is TreeClan called 'TreeClan' when they live on… on…." The apprentice struggled to find the correct word to use. "…On flatlands?"

"You aren't the first apprentice to ask these things. We have neutral territory because we do not want to risk an argument with our neighboring Clan." She paused, "My knowledge is a little sketchier on the latter query, young apprentice. From what my mentor told me, a long time ago, that that moorland was a dense wood filled with many pines, much like DarkClan's forest. But Firethroat decided to remove the trees and coated their land with liquid fire, scorching away all tall shrubbery. They remain to be TreeClan in honor of the place it once was, I think."

Burningpaw impatiently remarked, "Who _is_ this 'Firethroat' you and Bluedawn keep talking about?!"

"Not who, but _what_, young Burningpaw." Dreamstar breathed. A sigh of wind whispered through her fur as she murmured, "Firethroat is a mountain we believe was enchanted by our ancestors. It symbolizes our protection by sending signs to the sky when we are doing something wrong, and many a prophecy involves its interference somehow. It is also, however, a mark of danger, for Firethroat rains its inferno from the heavens when it is angry, destroying every living thing in its path."

The young apprentice didn't quite know how to react to this. Quite baffled at the idea of a fire-breathing mountain, he burbled, "W-wow…."

Dreamstar only nodded. "It has been so long since Firethroat erupted. It has never happened in my life, but I'm sure that someday it will grow restless again." She turned towards mountains in the FrostClan territories. "Come now. We must continue our tour."

Burningpaw proceeded to scamper after Dreamstar when she began running again. _Darn it… what's with all the running?_ he growled internally. His paws pounded hard against the ground, breaking the sticks and kicking up the moss.

As he scampered farther into the woodland, he noticed that the trees were sparser here than near the camp. Nearly tripping over his paws, the apprentice bowled right into Dreamstar again as he stumbled into a small space filled with smelly humus.

"Yeuch…" he gagged. Burningpaw opened his dark eyes. They widened as he saw an astounding structure unlike anything he had ever seen. Tumbling rocks draped in lichen formed little caves barely big enough for a cat to crawl through. Trees split in two and mossy logs were all around it as if they were nothing but debris. The whole place smelled of insects and dirt. In the warming leaf-bare sun, it looked like a small, tattered mountain.

"Be wary when you are sent to hunt or patrol here, young Burningpaw," Dreamstar cautioned. "These are the Spider Caves. In those winding tunnels are many dangerous rocks that are just waiting to fall and crush you. When you are sent here, do not make any noise louder than normal speaking. The Spider Caves are prone to rock falls from the nearby mountain, which we are standing right by the edge of.

"Thankfully," she continued, "this place is not nearly as dangerous to tread as Boulderplace in StormClan territory. Even so much as a whisper could cause the whole peak to crumble."

Burningpaw gulped, "Well if the Spider Caves are so dangerous, then why do we hunt here?"

Dreamstar paused for a moment, as if she were searching for the right words. "When the short seasons of newleaf and greenleaf arrive to grace our forest with bounty, much prey hides in these tunnels and many wild herbs grow. Medicine cats and warriors alike find plenty here, even though the risk can be high," she phrased carefully. "When you are ready, you will be sent here to hunt on your own, for that is one of the tests for you to pass to become a warrior."

Staring at the tall place, so beautiful and so ominous, Burningpaw felt a pang of dread claw his stomach. "So… can we move on now?"

Dreamstar jolted upright, as if she were suddenly snapped into reality. "Yes. Follow me." She swished her tail upright and began to sprint through the woods.

With a snort of irritation, Burningpaw charged right after his mentor, his aching paws tearing through patches of decaying thorns. "GAH!" he cried as he smacked his nose right into a low-hanging branch of a tree. Stunned by the force of the blow, he staggered back with a moan of pain, barely restraining tears from his eyes.

The bushes ahead of him rustled. Dreamstar emerged, her blue eyes wide with fear. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

Burningpaw licked his muzzle. _No blood, _he thought and replied, "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Then come along. You had me worried," his leader firmly replied.

"Geez," he mumbled. The tom got back to his paws, his head still drumming with pain. He blinked his dark eyes open, only to find that Dreamstar had disappeared.

"What is up with THAT?!" he roared. Frustrated at his mentor, he curled his lip and took a deep breath to calm himself down. On the breeze he caught her scent leading into the bushes.

_Wait…_ he thought. _Does this mean she wants me to _track_ her to our next destination?_ The apprentice placed his paws on the moist earth and took another breath. Dreamstar's scent, sweet and strong, almost lead its own path through the undergrowth and beyond.

Burningpaw nodded and began to follow the scent trail. He was surprised to find that beyond the small bushes was a clear stretch of land that spread along the base of the nearby mountains enclosing the valley. The path looked as though it were treaded on by so many generations of paw-steps that it had been reduced to a flat trail cleared away for easy travel.

Dreamstar's scent led Burningpaw along the trail. The tom found himself bounding along effortlessly, like the breeze over the moors. No sticks, roots, or leaves dared stray in his path as he ran. His pounding head quickly vanished to be replaced by a young, beating heart, repaired by the free feeling of soaring with the wind.

"WOOHAH!" he whooped. He leapt over the minor holes in the road, slamming his paws into the ground and continuing running. With a rush and a meow of delight, he scurried through a small thicket—

…And ran into Dreamstar again. His leader turned around with an amused smile on her face. "You seem to have a habit of bumping into things, Burningpaw."

Humiliated, Burningpaw looked up awkwardly at his mentor and laughed, "Well why do you always sit right on the path I'm running?"

His leader disregarded that question with a flick of her tail and murmured, "Just as you have been guided here by your scent, you must use it again. Tell me, what do you smell?"

The apprentice inhaled deeply, drinking in the air hungrily. A strong, overpowering smell burned his nostrils like sulfurous fumes, stinking horribly of rotting wood, decaying food, and death itself. Coming over his scent glands were the smells of many cats, lurking in the shadows of the wood beyond.

"I smell cats."

"Very good," Dreamstar praised. "We are very near the DarkClan border. There is a hill only a few fox-lengths away which lead into the lowlands of their territory. It is a dark place where little light comes through the trees, but the cats who live there are actually not too bad once you get to know them.

Burningpaw couldn't help but stare at the dark forest ahead. _Wasn't Bloodstar born in DarkClan? _The tom wasn't surprised. Though could hear sounds of birds echoing from the gloom, he could almost feel the torturous red stare of the vicious leader coming out of the darkness to hunt him down and kill him.

Dreamstar meowed, "Remember, Burningpaw, unless the situation is dire, a FrostClan cat should never go down the hill into the DarkClan forest. Our place is here; it was their _choice_ to live in the dark."

For the first time that day, Dreamstar began to walk slowly with Burningpaw treading closely behind. The smell of DarkClan mingled with that of FrostClan at the border, which created something sickeningly sweet. Burningpaw looked at the comforting patchy light of home. _I'm very proud to be a FrostClan cat,_ he thought. The young apprentice honestly couldn't imagine how scary it must be to survive in those shadows every day.

As they padded along, Burningpaw heard the muffled sound of running water farther away. With every step he took it grew just a little louder, until finally it was roaring in his ears harder than any wind could blow. "Are we at the river?"

"Of course we are. Take a look."

Burningpaw padded over to where Dreamstar halted. Looking out over the short ridge, he could see a river that was churning with murky, black water. The waves roughly beat at an island that wasn't too far away from FrostClan shores. A fresh smell of melting ice filled Burningpaw's nose like a wave of warmth from the approaching newleaf.

"This, as you may have surmised, is the river," Dreamstar meowed. "It runs as a border between us and TreeClan and DarkClan with StormClan. Every full moon we meet in truce at the island in the middle. What is this truce called?"

"The Gathering!" Burningpaw piped up.

"Correct. There we exchange news with the other clans and discuss matters that are important to all four clans. In a time of peace, we even sometimes host special contests for young apprentices such as yourself to compete in to see which young cat in all the clans is the best hunter, fighter, runner, or even climber. Unfortunately," Dreamstar sighed, "I was but a kit when the last one was held and it will take a long period of peace to issue such events."

Burningpaw pondered for a moment and then meowed, "The moon was pretty big last night. Will the next Gathering be soon?"

"Why, yes," Dreamstar purred. "In a few days. If you're good to your duty, you may be able to come."

A proud glow seemed to fill Burningpaw's heart. _Imagine, my very first Gathering!_ He could already hear cheering and welcoming to apprenticeship. In his mind he envisioned the island alight by the full moon, with four regal cats looking down on a mighty band of feline warriors bowing before their leaders. The young cat could see himself among the crowd, sitting tall and humbly tilting his head as Dreamstar mentioned his apprentice name.

He looked up. The sun was starting to get low in the sky, as if twilight were to arrive very soon. "Uh… Dreamstar? Maybe we should go back to camp now."

His leader glanced briefly at him and chuckled, "Very well, young apprentice. You've had a long day, filled with all sorts of new sights and smells. Tomorrow your real training will begin. Although," she gave him a roguish grin. "I do have one more thing I'd like to show you."

"Really?" Burningpaw meowed, his dark eyes glittering with excitement. "What is it?"

"Put your paws _really_ close to the edge of the water and then rear up on your hind paws." She winked mischievously. "Trust me."

Burningpaw looked at the churning water close to the island, slamming hard against the rocks. With a gulp he slinked forward, feeling his toes perched precariously near the edge of the riverbank. Forcing all his weight to his hind paws the tom reared upward, feeling a blast of warm air against his face like the winds of fate blowing him to his destiny. The sunlight glowed on the waterside, making fire of his fur. Burningpaw's eyes flashed bright to the light, challenging it to come and fight him.

"This is amazing!" he shouted. "I mean, I just—WOAH!" Upon Burningpaw's outburst, he momentarily lost track of his balance and tumbled head over heels into the water.

The shock took Burningpaw completely by surprise. The freshly-melted icy water tore at his fur like a chilly blast of winters past. That feeling of warmth he felt as he stood facing the world was completely overcome by the shivering tines of the water stabbing his flank.

All of a sudden, Burningpaw felt like he could breathe again. Spitting out water, he inhaled deep gulps of air as he felt the sun-warmed rocks against his soaked belly. A breezy cackle was heard not too far away. Burningpaw turned to see his leader yowling with laughter at the trunk of a nearby tree. "It works every time! I figured that after a few dozen moons they would learn…."

The young tom gave her a slightly exasperated smile. Rather than a LionClan hero opposing all odds, he was now just a wet apprentice who had fallen victim of a practical joke. Burningpaw snorted, "Very funny. Seriously, though, let's just get back to camp before I freeze to death."

Dreamstar got up, breathing heavily from her laughter. She meowed, "Quite right. Let's head back."

_--_

**I still can't think of any darn lyrics! Geez… if anybody has suggestions, I'd be happy to look into a certain band or song to see if anything would work. But yeah. That won't happen.**

**This has broken my record for "Longest **_**DreamClan**_** Chapter" so far, with seven pages as a mere Word document. Now let's see if one will ever be forty pages, like my Spyro: Truth or Dares ones are. HA! That will be the day. I think that seven pages are pretty good though.**


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